Chapter 3

I stared at the vicious comments flooding the screen, my face expressionless.

Just then, the old phone in my pocket started buzzing furiously.

The caller ID said Dad.

My stomach dropped as a terrible feeling came over me.

Nolan spotted it immediately and aimed the livestream camera at my phone.

"Guys, look! Her family's calling!"

"We're getting an answer out of her today!"

I took a deep breath and answered.

The second the call connected, I heard my sister wailing on the other end.

"Mara! What the hell have you done?"

"There are people crowding outside our house! They've splashed paint all over the front door, and they're smashing our windows!"

"Dad's blood pressure shot up. He's lying on the floor, and the ambulance can't even get through!"

Her voice trembled with fear and desperation.

Then Dad's weak but furious voice came over the line.

"Mara Ellison! You've really outdone yourself, haven't you?"

"Someone just called and said you refused to save a child. They said they'd make us pay with our lives for Mr. Halston's son!"

"They even posted your sister's school address online!"

I gripped the phone tightly and snapped my gaze toward Valerie.

She stood off to the side with a smug sneer.

No one outside the Network knew where my family lived. No one knew where my sister went to school either.

It was Valerie.

She'd completely lost her mind over that five hundred million dollars.

Dad coughed hard into the phone, his voice choked with emotion.

"Mara, I'm begging you. Why can't you just tell them?"

"That's five hundred million dollars! Just tell them, and we'll all be free of this!"

"Why do you have to make yourself the bad guy? Are you trying to get your sister and me killed?"

My eyes burned as I listened to my family accuse me.

Of course I wanted them to have a better life.

I wanted that five hundred million too. I wanted to take them away from that run-down neighborhood.

But I knew the truth: I might live long enough to take the money, but I wouldn't live long enough to spend it.

It took everything I had, but I clenched my jaw and shook my head again.

"Dad, Sis, I really can't tell them."

"Trust me. I'm doing this to keep you both alive."

"If I say anything today, none of us will live to see tomorrow."

Dad exploded.

"You're insane! You've completely lost your mind!"

"From this day on, you're no daughter of mine!"

The call ended with a sharp click.

Nolan laughed so hard his eyes watered.

"You hear that? Even your own family doesn't want you anymore!"

"Mara, everyone hates you now. How much longer do you think you can hold out?"

On the screen, Grant slowly lit a cigar.

The fake sincerity was gone from his face. All that remained was a naked threat.

"Ms. Ellison, my patience has limits."

"If you don't want the five hundred million, I'll use it to put a price on your family's heads."

"For that kind of money, plenty of people would be willing to do the job."

Valerie quickly joined in.

"Mara, don't say I didn't warn you. You have no idea what Mr. Halston is capable of."

"Tell him now, while you still can."

I looked at the screen, where twenty million people were watching the livestream.

Then I looked at Grant, who clearly thought he had everything under control.

Finally, I turned to Nolan and Valerie, both smug with triumph.

"Fine. I'll tell you. But I won't say anything until the head of the Alderidge State Police gets involved."

"The head of the Alderidge State Police?"

Nolan roared with laughter into the livestream camera as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Mara, you're just some lousy psychic. You really think you're that important?"

Valerie's face hardened.

"Mara, quit pushing your luck. Mr. Halston can get someone from the Alderidge State Police here if that's what you want. But if they show up and you still can't lead them to the boy, you'll be in serious trouble for lying to the police!"

On the screen, Grant's gaze turned cold and menacing.

"Fine. I'll give you what you want."

"Commissioner Shaw happens to be nearby on official business. One phone call, and I can have him there."

"But Mara, if you try to play games with me after he arrives, you and your whole family will disappear before the day's over."